The present invention relates to underground mining machines, and in particular to a lump crusher for a longwall shearer.
Longwall shearer mining machines are commonly used in underground mining applications. Conventional longwall shearers generally include a chassis and a pair of arms pivotably coupled to the chassis. Each of the arms supports a rotatable cutting drum that is equipped with teeth and removes material from a mining face. The longwall shearer is coupled to an armored face conveyor for movement in a lateral direction substantially parallel to the mining face. In operation, large pieces of removed material fall from the mining face onto the armored face conveyor, which carries the material away from the mining face. If not broken up, crushed, or split into fragments, the large pieces of removed material may become stuck between an underside of the chassis of the longwall shearer and the armored face conveyor, thereby clogging the passage of the removed material and potentially causing production delays.